View full sizeA steady stream of Christmas Eve shoppers flowed into Hip Hound on Northwest 23rd Avenue in Portland, where Julian Marcellis kisses the 10-week-old puppy that will be a present for his 7-year-old daughter, Lucia. Marcellis and Tony Russo were shopping for accessories to go along with the blue-nosed pit bull terrier.
Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

Virginia Barba picked up her sister at the airport on Monday morning, and the pair headed straight for a nearby Best Buy.

By 10:30 a.m., younger sis Sarah Sandoval, 21, of San Diego, was tossing a bag into the trunk of their car at Cascade Station in Northeast Portland.

"She just bought my present," said Barba, 33, of Beaverton, adding that the bag held a boxed set of horror films.

So much for surprises.

But surprise isn't necessarily the first priority on Christmas eve when there are still unchecked items on the list.

The sisters were among a large contingent of last-minuters out Monday morning at metro-area malls and grocery stores, marveling at the good weather and the relative calm -- at least compared with the busy weekend.

What they said

"I saw something interesting once on this science show. It said that shopping raises the blood pressure, heart rate -- everything -- on a man more than battle... That's the case for me. I only come out for a few select birthdays and Christmas Eve."

-- Russ Pinching, 69, of Southwest Portland, taking a break in the sun outside the Best Buy store at Cedar Hills Crossing

"I'm just starting. I just need to get something for my wife and two other little gifts. My wife did all the rest. I do this every year on Christmas Eve."

-- Paul Blackburn, 32, of Beaverton

"I went to Powell's, Best Buy, Old Navy and PacSun," said Virginia Barba, 33, of Beaverton on Monday. She was describing the day before as she started -- and completed -- her holiday shopping.

A smile spread across the face of her 21-year-old sister standing beside her.

"Oh," said Sarah Sandoval, who flew in Monday from San Diego, "now I know what I'm getting."

-- Laura Gunderson

For many men, especially those who admit they avoid shopping the rest of the year, the Christmas eve outing is an annual pilgrimage: Jewelry for their wives, perfume for their mothers and mothers-in-law. And in one case of parental payback, a large digital drum set for a grandchild.

A handful of retailers were scheduled to stay open late on Monday, including Target until 9 p.m. and Barnes & Noble and Toys 'R Us until 10 p.m. But most wrapped things up around 6 p.m. and that's the time, clerks in variety of clothing, consumer electronics and home goods stores said, it always gets busy with the real frantic folks.

"I just gave up," said Russ Pinching, 69, of Southwest Portland, as he walked out of the Best Buy at Cedar Hills Crossing late Monday morning with a few gifts he picked up for his granddaughter. "Normally, I try to stay away from gift certificates, but I've had enough."

Some shoppers grumbled about the lack of selection, the difficulty of finding a sales clerk and the disappearance of free gift-wrap stations. In a few parking lots, the stress of the holidays played out with near-miss fender benders and honking horns.

Still, Monday's sunny skies were a blessing for retailers, who say they've had a spotty shopping season.

Nationally, the election slowed things down in November, followed by Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast. The usual shopping lull arrived in early December, but then about the time sales were supposed to pick up, violence dominated the national headlines, hitting especially close to home for local retailers.

Much of the conversation in retail circles centers on how such news events keep people from shopping. Indeed, some local store owners said they'd be happy to simply break even this year.

"We're really lucky to be doing what we're doing when you consider the headwinds we're facing," said Mike Roach, co-owner of the Paloma Clothing store in Southwest Portland. He added that this year's "frigid" temperatures and heavy rains haven't helped.

But Marshal Cohen, chief industry expert for retail researcher NPD Group, says the mass shootings in Connecticut, the fiscal cliff and other national news haven't affected U.S. retail sales at all. In his view, it's a lack of things worth buying.

"Retailers and brands need to look at their own shelves to understand the lack of enthusiasm by the consumer and that it is the merchandise to blame," he said, adding that the folks who will be out to the bitter end shopping are likely focused solely on price.

Still, some shoppers were out Monday spending in small stores.

Kate Noreen, who owns Mudpuddles Toys & Books, was humming along Monday after a hectic weekend in which she logged her best-ever sales day since buying the Sherwood store in February.

"I'm feeling the love," Noreen said. She said her sales last Wednesday nearly matched a Saturday, which amounts to four times the sales of a typical weekday.

"November was our first month that we were up over last year," she said, adding that December is up so far, too. Like other retailers, she'd hoped having a weekend so close to Christmas Eve would jump-start shopping.

"It's a bit of retail magic having that 'extra weekend.'"

Indeed, her season's bestseller -- a lit-up hovercraft-like disk that's painted like a soccer ball and flies around the room when kicked -- sold out Monday.